NEW BOOK COMING SOON! —THE NEW INVENTORS’ FRONTIER – KEYS TO CREATING GLOBAL INVENTIVE TRANSFORMATIONS

ABOUT THE BOOK

Invention is important and the author wants to support and encourage as many people as possible to embark on inventing. And the first object lesson is to teach that inventing is not something that only special people can do; everybody so willing can invent (or learn to) as long as there is desire, accessible guidance, and keen interest.

If indeed human ingenuity is our most valuable natural resource as well as our most abundant, then all people ought to benefit more equitably from the fruits of human ingenuity. People are a crucial factor in inventing, inventions and inventive thinking, as protagonists, and as beneficiaries. Inventing, inventions and inventive thinking is about people's effort whether as individuals or in group(s)/team(s), to solve human challenges. Inventing, inventions and inventive thinking have been proven to be a way to solve problems and inventors have made invaluable contributions to development of societies worldwide. Both people and countries usually get the credits and plaudits. People involved actively in inventing, usually inventors, are, therefore, assets to their countries of residence.

The humongous growth in frontier economies’ per capita incomes after over 250 years of prolific inventions and innovations highlight the critical roles of inventiveness in society. Inventors and their creations have helped nations gain competitive advantage, achieve economic growth and improved quality of life. Thus, several nations deliberately foster education/learning, culture and environments which enable inventive thinking. A survey of requisite literature reveals inventors, the creators of inventions, innovations and potential drivers of technological progress, are established as a group of highly valuable economic agents within frontier economies and/or countries. Background research shows countries leverage capacity in science, technology and innovation to support higher productivity, competitiveness, and growth of national economy through increased national inventive activity, improvement of scientific research performance, development and application of technologies, and promotion of innovation within enterprises towards increasing rates of production the value addition of influential elements of the domestic economy.

Frontier innovative countries with industrial economy/government, for this purpose, are those with clear advantages in inventing, critical thinking, creativity, inventions and innovations, with inventive outputs to match. The same countries and/or economies have nurtured several individuals/groups which help them achieve prolific fruits of human ingenuity, and thus outstanding levels of inventions and innovations. These are the same economies which participated (directly or indirectly) in the first, second and third Industrial Revolutions as well as the subsequent knowledge exchange and diffusion. They have profited hugely by capitalizing on advantages gained from post-1750 scientific revolution, the subsequent broadening of technological understanding, and the improved information exchange, to enjoy significant national wealth increases created by the sustained outpouring of inventions and innovations. They have developed education systems that enhance inventive thinking abilities of learners resulting in skills that can be used to create prolific inventive activity.

In The Next Inventors’ Frontier: Keys To Creating Global Inventive Transformations, based on detailed research and evidence tackles all these probes by concentrating on the following: Who has done significant and learnable things the course of growing and exploiting the fruits of human ingenuity? What are the plausible conditions for their achievements? Can we distill a set of “transferable” and “replicable” steps which can help emulator countries gain related advantage? What knowledge is available within the purview of the “success” models and how can emulator countries access these resources? Collaborating with intent, how can greater impact be achieved for humanity? The author’s wide-ranging research distills examples, lessons and insights spanning the academia, multiple industries, government, non-government / voluntary sectors as well as national / international professional practices from appraisal of selected frontier economies and/or countries as case studies from the global north and south, and from regions including North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Central Asia, East Asian Pacific, South Asia, North America, Central America, South America and the Middle East.

One of the most significant discoveries from the background research are the remarkable results posted by countries which were not originally part of the frontier economies, but intentionally embarked on pursuing, procuring and transplanting inventive knack, technology (whether licenced, coerced, collaborated and/or transferred from friendly nations) and adapted innovations, to power productivity growth, economic development and improved quality of life. However inventively disadvantaged countries do not share equally in the fruits of invention like the frontier economies. The author x-rays the deterrent of a typical (inventively disadvantaged) country that struggles with both development and adaptation of technologies, and then, proposes remedial steps as well as a putative framework by which any disadvantaged country could raise homegrown inventive talents, hopefully tackle local technology deficiency, and grow prolific fruits of human ingenuity.

The Next Inventors’ Frontier: Keys To Creating Global Inventive Transformations, builds an evidence-addled scenario of the possibility of countries that struggle with both development and adaptation of technologies utilizing lessons, insights, experiences, knowledge and capacities framework garnered from case study countries. Using the seven broad categories of factors, conditions and elements including cultural, scientific, educational, environmental, political, technical factors and cross-cutting, Nigeria, as a typical example, with its low levels of inventive activity and low innovative capacity arising from a plethora of hurdles blocking prolific inventions and innovations could stand-in for any one of over 120 countries that need to use technology to tackle poverty challenges. The author wishes to introduce and invigorate interest in inventive and innovation skills development and proliferation particularly in countries that are disadvantaged in terms of exploiting inventing (including invention, science, technology, and innovation) to boost productivity and competitive advantage.

If the last 250 odd years have been so prodigious in inventions and innovations, entirely powered by scientific breakthroughs and inventive thinking, can we imagine what could be achieved, if new entrants, that is countries that struggle with both development and adaptation of technologies, along with the frontier economies and those who successfully piggybacked, participate in the next wave of truly global inventive transformations in the next 250 years?

KENNETH NWABUDIKE OKAFOR

Cancer-Causing Stomach Bug Has Become TWICE As Hard To Treat With Antibiotics In The Last 20 Years

The World Health Organization (WHO) has said superbugs are one of the biggest threats to the human race. It has named H. pylori - heavily linked to peptic ulcers and gastric cancer - among the most dangerous

●Experts measured resistance rates of Helicobacter pylori against antibiotics ●Rates against clarithromycin jumped from 10% in 1998 to almost 22% last year ●Professor Francis Megraud, author of the study, said the trend was ‘alarming’

Antibiotic resistance to a cancer-causing superbug has more than doubled in the space of two decades, scientists have warned. Rates of resistance of Helicobacter pylori against clarithromycin jumped from under 10 per cent in 1998 to almost 22% in 2018.

Professor Francis Megraud, a microbiologist at the University of Bordeaux, France, and lead author of the study, described the trend as 'alarming'. His team looked at clarithromycin, levofloxacin and metronidazole - the major anti-microbials used to kill H. pylori.

Rates of resistance of Helicobacter pylori against clarithromycin jumped from under 10%in 1998 to almost 22% in 2018

In the first study of its kind, they analyzed their effect on 1,232 patients scattered across 18 countries in Europe, including Ireland. The World Health Organization (WHO) has said superbugs are one of the biggest threats to the human race. It has named aggressive strains of H. pylori - heavily linked to peptic ulcers and gastric cancer - among the most dangerous. 

Professor Megraud said: 'H. pylori infection is already a complex condition to treat, requiring a combination of medications.' He said resistance rates for common antibiotics such as clarithromycin increase at an 'alarming rate of nearly 1% per year. Treatment options for H. pylori will become progressively limited and ineffective if novel treatment strategies remain undeveloped. The reduced efficacy of current therapies could maintain the high incidence rates of gastric cancer and other conditions such as peptic ulcer disease, if drug resistance continues to increase at this pace.'

H. pylori is one of the most common infections, present in up to one in two people. 

It can cause inflammation of the stomach lining, or gastritis, leading to peptic ulcers. The condition effects up to one in fifteen people in the UK alone. The bacteria is also one of the most important risk factors for gastric cancer, also known as stomach cancer - the third leading cause of cancer death worldwide. 

In recent years, H. pylori antibiotic resistance has become a prominent and urgent issue across the globe.

In Ireland, a quarter of patients (25.6%) were resistant to clarithromycin, the main drug for the bacteria - compared to just one in 20 (5%) in Denmark. Only five other nations fared worse - Italy (36.9%), Croatia (34.6%), Greece (30%), Poland (28.5%) and Bulgaria (26.9%). The UK was not looked at in the study, presented at a meeting in Barcelona held by the United European Gastroenterology. 

Professor Megraud’s team now plan to compare the data with the level of antibiotic consumption in the individual countries. Prof Mario Dinis-Ribeiro, the president of the European Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, said: 'The findings are certainly concerning.

'H. pylori is the main cause of peptic disease and gastric cancer. The increasing resistance of H. pylori to a number of commonly-used antibiotics may jeopardize prevention strategies.'

England's outgoing chief medical officer Professor Dame Sally Davies has warned antibiotic resistance risks 'putting medicine back in the dark ages'.

Originally published on DAILY MAIL UK

NEWS POST: CANCER BREATH TEST: The Cancer ‘Breathalyzer’: Test Being Trialled By British Scientists Could Spot Disease Early And Revolutionize Diagnosis

A major trial of the technology (pictured) – involving 1,500 patients over two years – is now being launched

A breathalyzer test being developed by British scientists could revolutionize cancer diagnosis. The test is designed to pick up early signs of the disease which enter the breath and become airborne – slashing the need for biopsies. Doctors say it could save thousands of lives each year.

The technique relies on a pioneering device that can detect chemicals given off by cancerous tumours. A major trial of the technology – involving 1,500 patients over two years – is now being launched. The test could replace current screening programmes within a decade.

Dr David Crosby, from Cancer Research UK, said: ‘It sounds futuristic but it’s very much a real thing and the potential is enormous. If you find cancer early, the potential for treatment is much higher. In a lot of cases, we simply don’t have good tests for finding very early cancers because they don’t have symptoms.

‘So having a test which is relatively cheap – and non-invasive so you don’t have to take a biopsy – would be a huge advantage. Essentially it’s a breathalyzer for cancer.’

The UK lags behind the rest of Europe when it comes to cancer survival rates, which experts blame on a failure to diagnose it earlier. More than 17,000 Britons die each year because the disease is not spotted quickly enough. While biopsies or other invasive tests take time to organize, the breathalyzer could be operated in a GP’s surgery.

The technology is the brainchild of Cambridge scientist Billy Boyle, who developed it after his wife died from colon cancer at the age of 36. Kate Gross – who had been an adviser to Tony Blair and Gordon Brown – died in 2014.

●Test is designed to pick up early signs of the disease which enter the breath ●It would slash the need for biopsies and could save thousands of lives a year ●Technique relies on a pioneering device that can detect chemicals from tumours

Mr Boyle said the loss of his ‘inspirational’ wife – with whom he had twin boys – spurred him to co-found development firm Owlstone Medical in the hope of helping others get early treatment.

The test works by spotting waste products given off by cancer cells, which are known as volatile organic compounds (VOCs). These find their way into a patient’s breath through the bloodstream, in a similar way to alcohol.

The technique relies on a pioneering device that can detect chemicals given off by cancerous tumours

In the trial being carried out at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge, patients will be asked to breathe into the device for ten minutes. It will collect the airborne molecules before they are sent to a laboratory for analysis.

Patients can expect to have their results within a few days, rather than the two weeks it typically takes for a biopsy.

Scientists also believe that different cancers will cause recognizable alterations in the VOCs, allowing them to determine the chemical signatures for each. Initially, patients with suspected oesophageal and stomach cancers will be given the test before it is extended to include prostate, kidney, bladder, liver and pancreatic cancers.

The trial is being run by Cancer Research UK alongside Owlstone Medical.

Dr Crosby added: ‘The concept is that if you look for those waste products, then you’ll be able to spot whether or not there’s a cancer and what sort it might be.

‘It’s early stages but there are lots of promising signals that look like you will get a different signature from a cancer in your gut than you would from one in your lung, pancreas or anywhere else.’

In the UK, there are 360,000 new cases of cancer diagnosed every year. Of these, half are detected at a late stage, drastically reducing a person’s survival chances. However, rapid advances in technology mean scientists can now detect early signs of cancer that are equivalent to a fraction of a grain of sand. Similarly, a greater understanding of the biology of cancer means researchers are now confident they know what to look for.

Lead researcher Professor Rebecca Fitzgerald, from the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute, said the best way to improve survival rates was through early detection. She said: ‘We urgently need to develop new tools – like this breath test – which could help to detect and diagnose cancer earlier, giving patients the best chance of surviving. Through this trial we hope to find signatures needed to detect cancers earlier. It’s the crucial next step in developing this technology.’

Mr Boyle said that the breath test could work alongside other methods of diagnosis. He added: ‘There is increasing potential for breath-based tests to aid diagnosis, sitting alongside blood and urine tests in an effort to help doctors detect and treat disease. The concept of providing a whole-body snapshot in a completely non-invasive way is very powerful and could reduce harm by sparing patients from more invasive tests that they don’t need. Our technology has proven to be extremely effective at detecting VOCs in the breath, and we are proud to be working with Cancer Research UK as we look to apply it towards the incredibly important area of detecting early-stage disease in a range of cancers.’

Originally published on DAILY MAIL UK

NEWS POST: UK Aid Pays For Futuristic ‘Smart Glasses’ That Will Allow Doctors To Direct War Zone Surgery From Thousands Of Miles Away

The futuristic glasses, funded by UK aid money, will enable local health workers or even the untrained to benefit from real-time guidance from experts

●The glasses will enable local health workers to benefit from real-time guidance ●Surgeons able to supervise procedures through a camera built into the glasses ●Among the glasses' features is a zoom function which can be used by the doctor ●Government gives the Iristick project around £250,000 to develop the glasses

Doctors will be able to help with operations in war zones from thousands of miles away by looking on through a pair of smart glasses. The futuristic glasses, funded by UK aid money, will enable local health workers or even the untrained to benefit from real-time guidance from experts.

Surgeons and other medical experts will be able to supervise procedures through a camera built into the glasses.

'A few decades ago these smart glasses would have been science fiction,' said International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt. 'Now, because of UK aid, they are on the cusp of saving real lives in the real world.'

Among the glasses' many features is a zoom in and out function which can be used by the remote doctor.

Surgeons and other medical experts will be able to supervise procedures through a camera built into the glasses

Steven Serneels, co-founder of Iristick, which developed the glasses, said: 'Distance does not count anymore. As long as you have access to the internet, these glasses work. It's a real time experience.

'People that are not supported by remote experts can stream movies which guide them with what they are doing.'

The Department for International Development has given the Iristick project around £250,000 to develop the glasses. The funding was part of a challenge to firms to come up with innovative projects to address humanitarian challenges.

Miss Mordaunt added: 'UK aid is changing millions of lives around the world for the better, and I want to harness the power of technology to do this even faster and more efficiently.'

Iristick suggested the cost of the glasses would be roughly £1,500 each. They will be tested in the Democratic Republic of Congo and in Afghanistan.

Originally published on DAILY MAIL UK

NEWS POST: Robots In The Field: Farms Embracing Autonomous Technology

Joe Allnutt, lead roboticist at British startup company the Small Robot Company, inspects a farming robot named Tom as part of a trial in East Meon, southern England, Friday Nov. 30, 2018. The "agri-tech" startup company is developing lightweight autonomous machines that can carry out precision "seeding, feeding and weeding" in the hope of transforming food production. (AP Photo / Kelvin Chan)

Faced with seesawing commodity prices and the pressure to be more efficient and environmentally friendly, farmer Jamie Butler is trying out a new worker on his 450-acre farm in England’s Hampshire countryside.

Methodically inspecting Butler’s winter wheat crop for weeds and pests, the laborer doesn’t complain or even break a sweat. That’s because it’s a four-wheel robot dubbed “Tom” that uses GPS, artificial intelligence and smartphone technology to digitally map the field.

Tom’s creator, the Small Robot Company, is part of a wave of “agri-tech” startups working to transform production in a sector that is under economic strain due to market pressures to keep food cheap, a rising global population and the uncertainties of climate change. Most robots are still only being tested, but they offer a glimpse of how automation will spread from manufacturing plants into rural areas.

“If we can keep our costs to an absolute minimum by being on the leading edge of technologies as one method of doing that, then that’s a really, really good thing,” said Butler, one of 20 British farmers enlisted in a yearlong trial.

Next year, the British startup plans to start testing two more robots controlled by an artificial intelligence system that will work alongside Tom, autonomously doing precision “seeding, feeding and weeding.”

The aim is to drastically cut down on fertilizer and pesticide use to lower costs and boost profits for struggling farmers. As such, it not only helps economically, but it also lowers the environmental impact of farming.

“What we’re doing is stuff that people can’t do,” said Ben Scott-Robinson, co-founder of the Small Robot Company. “It’s not physically possible for a farmer to go round and check each individual plant and then treat that plant individually. That’s only possible when you have something as tireless as a robot and as focused and accurate as an AI to be able to achieve that.”

A farming robot named "Tom" produced by Small Robot Company as part of a field trial to develop new farm technologies, in East Meon, southern England, Friday Nov. 30, 2018. The "agri-tech" startup company is developing lightweight autonomous machines that can carry out precision "seeding, feeding and weeding" in the hope of transforming food production. (AP Photo / Kelvin Chan)

Commercial sales of the full, multi-robot system is still years away, with larger-scale testing planned for 2021. They represent the next step in the evolution of automation for farms. Self-driving tractors and robotic milking machines have been in use for years and, more recently, unmanned aerial drones that monitor crops have gone into service.

Eventually, farms “will be able to automate virtually everything,” said Tim Chambers, a fruit farmer who’s not involved in the trial. Some jobs are harder to automate, such as harvesting delicate raspberries or strawberries by hand, but even that is coming, said Chambers, a member of Britain’s National Farmers Union.

Florida’s Harvest Croo Robotics, Spain’s Agrobot, Britain’s Dogtooth Technologies and Belgium’s Octinion are all developing berry-picking bots. California startup Iron Ox and Japan’s Spread grow vegetables in automated indoor farms. Bosch startup Deepfield Robotics is working on a weeding robot that punches them into the ground. Last year, British researchers planted, monitored, tended and harvested a barley crop using only autonomous machines, in what they said was a world first.

A more fundamental problem “will be the cost of building those robots and the research that has to go into making them,” Chambers said. The low cost of air freight could still make it cheaper to, for example, fly in fruit from other countries where labour is cheaper, he said.

To ease financial pressure on farmers reluctant to make big one-off investments in equipment, the Small Robot Company plans to sell its services as a monthly subscription, charging £600 pounds (US$765) per hectare a year.

With a bright orange 3D-printed body, and beefy all-terrain wheels, Tom resembles an oversized roller skate. Their light weight means these robots won’t compact soil the way tractors do, Scott-Robinson said.

On Butler’s farm, Tom trundles along crop rows taking hundreds of thousands of high-resolution pictures during the growing season. The images are fed to Wilma, the artificial intelligence platform, which is being trained to tell the difference between wheat and weeds.

Joe Allnutt, left, lead roboticist at British startup company the Small Robot Company, with robotics engineer Thomas Burrell operating a farming robot named "Tom" as part of a trial in East Meon, southern England, Friday Nov. 30, 2018. The "agri-tech" startup company is developing lightweight autonomous machines that can carry out precision "seeding, feeding and weeding" in the hope of transforming food production. (AP Photo / Kelvin Chan)

In 2019, the company will start trials for two more robots, Dick and Harry. Dick will deliver fertilizer directly to soil around roots, instead of wasteful blanket spraying, and use a laser or micro-spray chemicals to kill weeds. Harry will insert seeds into the earth at a uniform depth and spacing, eliminating the need for tractors to plow furrows.

Originally published on DAILY MAIL UK

NEWS POST: Scientists Discover A Tiny Hidden Region In The Brain That Is UNIQUE To Humans And Could Help Cure Parkinson’s And Motor Neurone Disease

Scientists have found a new region of the brain that only humans have - and they believe it could be what makes our species unique. The new region is called Endorestiform Nucleus

Scientists have found a tiny new region of the brain that only humans have - and they believe it could be what makes our species unique.

Researchers say the incredible find could help find a treatment for Parkinson's and motor neurone disease. For thirty years scientists - who have likened the discovery to finding a new star - suspected this region existed but were unable to see it.

Professor George Paxinos from Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA) found the hidden region. He was able to find the region, called the Endorestiform Nucleus, thanks to better staining and imaging techniques.

'The region is intriguing because it seems to be absent in the rhesus monkey and other animals that we have studied. This region could be what makes humans unique besides our larger brain size', he said.

For thirty years scientists - who have likened the discovery to finding a new star - suspected this region existed but were unable to see it

The region is found near the brain-spinal cord junction. This is an area that integrates sensory and motor information to refine our posture, balance and fine motor movements.

'I can only guess as to its function, but given the part of the brain where it has been found, it might be involved in fine motor control,' said Professor Paxinos.

The discovery of the region may help researchers explore cures for diseases including Parkinson's disease and motor neurone disease.

●For thirty years, researchers suspected this region existed but could not see it ●Scientists found the region thanks to better staining and imaging techniques ●The discovery of the region may help researchers explore cures for diseases

Parkinson’s disease affects one in 500 people, and around 127,000 people in the UK live with the condition. It causes muscle stiffness, slowness of movement, tremors, sleep disturbance, chronic fatigue, an impaired quality of life and can lead to severe disability. Motor neurone disease is when specialist nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord called motor neurones stop working properly.

Professor George Paxinos from Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA) found the hidden region. He was able to find the region, called the Endorestiform Nucleus, thanks to better staining and imaging techniques

Neuroscientists researching neurological or psychiatric diseases already use Professor Paxinos' maps to guide their work. His brain atlases are heralded as the most accurate for the identification of brain structures and are also used in neurosurgery.

'Professor Paxinos' atlases showing detailed morphology and connections of the human brain and spinal cord, provide a critical framework for researchers to test hypotheses from synaptic function to treatments for diseases of the brain,' said Professor Peter Schofield, CEO at NeuRA. He is the author of the most cited publication in neuroscience and another 52 books of highly detailed maps of the brain.

The maps chart the course for neurosurgery and neuroscience research, enabling exploration, discovery and the development of treatments for diseases and disorders of the brain.

His new findings are revealed in his latest book, Human Brainstem: Cytoarchitecture, Chemoarchitecture, Myeloarchitecture.

The discovery of the region may help researchers explore cures for diseases including Parkinson's disease and motor neurone disease

Culled from DAILY MAIL UK

NEWS POST: First-Of-Its-Kind Device Can Repair Damaged Nerves – Before It DISAPPEARS Inside The Body

Scientists have created a tiny biodegradable implant (silver) that can send electrical impulses to help repair damaged nerves, then disappears in the body 

Scientist have created a tiny device that can repair nerves and then deteriorate inside the body, making it the first 'bioelectronic' medicine.

There is a lot of hype around using technology to better our health through apps, wearables and even pills that keep track of when you took them. Now, the researchers at Northwestern University have come up with a recipe to build electronic treatment devices out of materials that dissolve in the body - and most of them are part of our daily diet. 

So far, they have successfully used their first device to treat damaged nerves in rats, but someday this tiny electronics could help keep hearts beating in time. 

We use all kinds of electronics to treat health conditions and injuries, but often they have to be surgically implanted, so when they malfunction or their batteries die, patients have to go back under the knife.  Many materials are safe for use in the body, but they change and break down the way our own tissues do. But that may be changing.  

The new disc-shaped wireless device is about the size of nickel, stimulates peripheral nerves with weak electric shocks. More importantly it is made of entirely of biodegradable materials. That means that when a nerve is healed, the body's fluids naturally break it down and it exits like any other waste would. 

That's because, even though it is a remote controlled semiconductor, the device is essentially made of substances that are part of our daily diet. In order to pulse the nerves, scientists needed to create a structure with conductors through which electric impulses can travel, insulation around them, and a semiconductor to be the brains of the operation. 

●Scientists have created a tiny biodegradable nerve stimulator ●The nickel-sized device is made of silicone, magnesium, and a similar polymer to the material dissolvable stitches are made from ●It successfully repaired nerves in injured rats ●Researchers at Northwestern University and the University of Washington think the materials  could be used to make many kinds of disappearing devices

'A semiconductor is critical because it is the foundation of all electronic gadgetry,' study co-author, Dr John Roberts of Northwestern University told Daily Mail Online. 

'Silicon itself is the workhorse material of the electronics industry ... and it is actually a recommended part of a daily diet. So we used exceptionally thin, small pieces of it. They themselves naturally dissolve when they come into contact with biofluds.'

To conduct the electrical signals, the research team used super thin magnesium, a substance that is also one of our dietary nutrients.  For insulation, Dr Roberts and his collaborators at Northwestern and the University of Washington used similar biodegradable 'plastics' to those used in dissolvable stitches, but he says that cellulose or silk could easily work too.  

In tests on injured rats, it quickened the regrowth of nerves in the legs leading to the recovery of muscle strength.  After about two weeks the device dissolves on its own. It can even be broken up in second between fingers, turning to shimmery flakes, then disappearing entirely.  

Scientists believe it could help thousands of people affected by numbness, tingling and weakness caused by sports injuries, accidents, or even too much typing or texting. 

About the size of a nickel, the new device is made of such delicate materials that it dissolves when rubbed between the fingers 

Dr Wilson Ray, who co-led the research at the University of Washington, US, said: 'We know that electrical stimulation during surgery helps, but once the surgery is over, the window for intervening is closed. With this device, we've shown that electrical stimulation given on a scheduled basis can further enhance nerve recovery." 

Unlike their counterparts in the brain and spinal cord, peripheral nerves running through the arms, legs and torso can regenerate after injury. Electrical stimulation triggers the release of growth-promoting proteins that help the neurons regrow faster and more completely. Most people with peripheral nerve damage are offered painkillers, physical therapy, and in extreme cases, surgery. 

The new device, described in the journal Nature Medicine, is powered wirelessly by a transmitter outside the body.  

'These platforms represent the first examples of a "bioelectronic medicine" - engineered systems that provide active, therapeutic function in a programmable, dosed format and then naturally disappear into the body, without a trace,' said Dr Roberts.  

He says that he and his team are already in talks with cardiologists about how the device could be applied to temporarily pace the heart during open heart surgeries. And there's no reason to believe that the same materials his team engineered couldn't be refashioned into all manner of devices. 'We're excited not only about the ability of this specific device but more broadly as concept going forward that could be used for an improvement in the way that we treat disease and injury,' he said.

Originally published on DAILY MAIL HEALTH